The Political Economy of Trade Policy

Overview

This collection of papers by former students and colleagues celebrates the profound impact that Jagdish Bhagwati has had on the field of international economics over the past three decades. Bhagwati, who is the Arthur Lehman Professor of Economics at Columbia University, has made pathbreaking contributions to the theory of international trade and commercial policy, including immiserizing growth, domestic distortions, economic development, and political economy. His success and influence as a teacher and mentor is widely recognized among students at both MIT and Columbia, and as founder of the Journal of International Economics, he has encouraged research on many questions of theoretical and policy relevance. The political economy of trade policy, Bhagwati's most recent area of interest, is the theme of this collection which addresses salient topics including market distortions, income distribution, and the political process of policy-making.Sections and Contributors: - Market Distortions. T. N. Srinivasan. Paul A. Samuelson. Paul R. Krugman.- Trade and Income Distribution. Douglas A. Irwin. Richard A. Brecher and Ehsan U. Choudri. Robert C. Feenstra and Gordon H. Hanson. Earl L. Grinols.- Perspectives on Political Economy. Robert E. Baldwin. Peter Diamond.- Models of Political Economy and Trade. Gene M. Grossman and Elhana Helpman. John Douglas Wilson. B. Peter Rosendorff. Arvind Panagariya and Ronald Findlay.

About the Editors

Robert C. Feenstra is Professor of Economics and C. Bryan Cameron Distinguished Chair in International Economics at the University of California, Davis. He directs the International Trade and Investment Program at the NBER and is the author of Advanced International Trade: Theory and Evidence and Offshoring in the Global Economy: Microeconomic Structure and Macroeconomic Implications (MIT Press, 2010).

Gene M. Grossman is Jacob Viner Professor of International Economics and Director of the International Economics Section at Princeton University.

Douglas A. Irwin is Professor of Economics at Dartmouth College. He is the author of Free Trade under Fire, Peddling Protectionism: Smoot-Hawley and the Great Depression, and other books.

Endorsements

“Jagdish Bhagwati has been a highly productive, world class teacher and scholar over the last 40 years. This stimulating volume, by former students and professional colleagues, is a fitting tribute to him and his work. It advances several topics on which Bhagwati himself pioneered and adds some important new ones.”—Richard N. Cooper, Maurits C. Boas Professor of International Economics, Harvard University; Chairman, National Intelligence Council

“This fine collection of papers by eminent scholars is a fitting tribute to the distinguished career of Jagdish Bhagwati.”—Stephen P. Magee, Bayless Professor of Economics and Finance, University of Texas at Austin

“In the international-trade-theory Hall of Fame after Smith, Ricardo, and Mill before this century, then Taussig, Viner, Heckscher, Ohlin, Meade and Samuelson comes Jagdish Bhagwati, the hero of this Festschrift. Samuelson, in fact, calls this 'The Age of Bhagwati'. Teachers, colleagues, students, peers have joined to honor him and to celebrate and push ahead with his many innovative extensions of classic theory. For those who need to get up to date, here is a vital compendium.”—Charles P. Kindleberger, Ford International Professor of Economics, MIT, Emeritus

“This is a superb collection of essays in honor of a great economist, Jagdish Bhagwati. Written by students and associates, these papers reveal the vast influence that Bhagwati has had on the subject of international economics.”—Edward E. Leamer, Chauncey J. Medberry Professor, Anderson School, UCLA

“This volume containing some major papers, theoretical and empirical, in the area of political economy of trade policy is a fitting tribute to Jagdish Bhagwati, an international stalwart in the field.”—Pranab Bardhan, Professor of Economics, University of Californiaat Berkeley